Agartala's 'Baahubali' theme pandals recreate Mahismati palace

Two big budget pujas here have chosen to depict the theme of the 'Baahubali' film series by building replicas of a palace synonymous with the movie.

President of the Netaji Play Forum Centre, Jiban Krishna Saha said, they had chosen the theme because of the immense popularity of the franchise.

"With the Baahubali series being bumper hits, we hope this theme will attract a large crowd during the puja," Saha said.

The pandal bears the shape of the Mahismati palace, as revellers are welcomed inside through a huge gate with two gigantic elephants placed at the entrance.

Inside the palace-like structure, there are many rock-cut carvings on the walls such as four horses carrying a big chariot and deities. At one corner, the statue of Baahubali is seen fighting with a buffalo.

The budget of the puja, which entered into its 60th year, was Rs 40 lakh, Saha said.

"Idols inside the pandal were made by clay artisans from Nabadwip in West Bengal. Decorators are a mix of local artists from Tripura and West Bengal," puja committee president Debajit Deb said.

The Chittaranjan Club here has the same theme.

"We have chosen this theme as many people including politicians and ministers had requested us to model the pandal based on the film's set and characters. We have tried to show the replica of the palace as depicted in the film, as well as other key elements," said Shibu Saha, the president of the club.

He said the club was organising durga puja for the last 58 years. The budget this year was about Rs 20 lakh.

Tripura is buzzing with festive fervour with around 2,500 durga puja pandals across the state.